I am a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

I contributed to a number of collaborative entrepreneurship projects, such as Global Entrepreneurship Monitor; Alternative funding (as part of Enterprise Research Centre grant); Gender, community deprivation and entrepreneurial activity.  In 2018 along with my colleagues I won Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Best Paper Award in the ‘SME Growth & Performance: Quantitative Perspectives’ Track.

I was leading Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) agenda at another UK Higher Education Institution. I worked with a range of social and commercial businesses on their business model design, and growth strategies as part of the University Enterprise Zone initiative.

My research interests lie mainly in the area of entrepreneurial finance, namely, informal capital, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and microfinance.  My recent work investigates informal funding mechanisms, innovations in the alternative finance markets, and the evolution of the finance escalator.

Additionally, I have been exploring entrepreneurship in the local communities, gender entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial growth.

I have experience in quantitative research methods (e.g. multi-level modelling), qualitative research, and mixed methods.

Currently, I am developing the following projects:

• The distribution of informal capital across local areas in the UK;
• Equity crowdfunding and its impact on business growth;
• The availability and use of microfinance in the deprived communities in the UK;
• Understanding the role and impact of Franchising on Social Enterprise Growth.

I am Deputy Course Leader for BA Business Management and Entrepreneurship. I have developed a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate entrepreneurship-related modules, dealing with new venture development, entrepreneurial growth, and business model design. I also specialise on teaching research methods in business, and quantitative methods of data analysis in particular.

I am happy to take calls and emails from the media on my research, and am aware of the needs to respond to journalists in a timely manner. Please contact Dr Ekaterina Murzacheva on either ekaterina.murzacheva@port.ac.uk or +44 2392844167.